Vanguard Group Inc. Has $87.66 Million Position in Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its stake in Southern Copper Corporation by 3.6%, holding approximately $87.66 million worth of the company after selling 34,729 shares.
• Southern Copper announced a dividend increase to $1.01, up from the previous $0.62, with a dividend yield of 270.0%.
• Recent research firm ratings indicate a mixed outlook for Southern Copper, with four analysts rating it a "Hold" and three issuing "Sell" ratings, contributing to a consensus price target of $91.00.

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO - Free Report) by 3.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 937,928 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 34,729 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Southern Copper worth $87,659,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SCCO. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its position in shares of Southern Copper by 117.6% during the first quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 272 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern Copper during the first quarter worth $29,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern Copper during the first quarter worth $34,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 53.7% during the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 733 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 35.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 906 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 7.94% of the company's stock.

Southern Copper Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE:SCCO traded down $0.23 on Thursday, reaching $95.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 438,868 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,408,703. Southern Copper Corporation has a 1-year low of $74.84 and a 1-year high of $121.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 4.51 and a current ratio of 5.27. The firm has a market cap of $77.18 billion, a PE ratio of 21.00, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.00. The business's 50-day moving average price is $98.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $94.01.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $1.01 per share. This is an increase from Southern Copper's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Southern Copper's payout ratio is currently 70.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on SCCO. Wall Street Zen cut Southern Copper from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Itau BBA Securities raised Southern Copper from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. UBS Group cut Southern Copper from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $105.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Southern Copper from $83.50 to $79.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $99.00 price objective (up from $86.00) on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $91.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern Copper

In other news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 414 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $41,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,327 shares of the company's stock, valued at $232,700. This represents a 15.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Southern Copper

Southern Copper Corporation engages in mining, exploring, smelting, and refining copper and other minerals in Peru, Mexico, Argentina, Ecuador, and Chile. The company is involved in the mining, milling, and flotation of copper ore to produce copper and molybdenum concentrates; smelting of copper concentrates to produce blister and anode copper; refining of anode copper to produce copper cathodes; production of molybdenum concentrate and sulfuric acid; production of refined silver, gold, and other materials; and mining and processing of zinc, copper, molybdenum, silver, gold, and lead.